Friday, May 8, 2009

Back to the vet

Our vet finally got the vet records of Finn's past. We scheduled an appt to check his Lymes titer as well as test him for heartworms. You can't start a dog on the heartworm prevention, unless you first insure he doesn't have them. Taking the preventative when they do have them can do irreperable damage to the heart. The test is a simple blood pull, and you wait 15 minutes for the results.

Finn was negative, and in good shape otherwise. Now up to 105 pounds. He wasn't thrilled about being at the vet, but he was more accepting of it. Of course, he made lots of new friends, and everyone loved him except for a cat in a carrier.

Since wolfhounds are so large, you will end up doubling or combining doses of meds. Finn takes two heartworm pills to accomodate his weight. Also since wolfhounds have a deep chest, and are more of a 'primitive' breed, you have to be very careful administering sedatives. We are lucky that our vet has several wolfhound patients, so is experienced.